New Fallout 76 update goes to Ohio, "in total tonal tandem" with the Amazon show

Fallout 76 Burning Springs is taking us across the border for a new adventure, and it's bringing the Amazon Prime show's best character with it. Having gradually nurtured F76 into one of the best survival games on PC, Bethesda's next update takes place in Ohio, meaning we'll be travelling over the river to the west of the existing map. Citing its main inspirations as Fallout 3 and New Vegas, creative director Jon Rush and lead producer Bill LaCoste walked me through a hands-off roundtable presentation of what we can expect when we arrive in Burning Springs, and it might just get me to dust off my Fixer.

Rush and LaCoste call Fallout 76 Burning Springs the "biggest update ever." It's "in complete tonal tandem" with Season 2 of the ongoing Fallout show on Prime, and is scheduled to arrive alongside it in December, although we'll be able to get an early taste of it very soon on the PTS. Head across the water via the Silver Bridge in the north-west and you'll find yourself in the brave new land of Ohio, where the majority of the new update will take place. You'll almost immediately find yourself face to face with the high, rusted barricades of Checkpoint Canyon, defended with vitriol by Rust Guards.

Despite the best efforts of our Vault Dweller, they find themselves captured and imprisoned in the camp of the Rust King, an eloquent but brutish Super Mutant who holds court over an arena. He's impressed by our bravado, and wants us to fight - do so, and we're allowed to walk free for now, pointed in the direction of a "weasel named Runt" who can be found in Highway Town.

This fittingly named establishment is built into a broken stretch of high-rise road, and it's where we run into the weasel in question, who is actually a snivelling man in the employ of the Rust King. By completing certain trials, we're able to earn reputation with the big man, but are then suddenly confronted by one of our former prison companions, a man named Eugene.

Previously thought to be dead, Eugene shows up, leaves Runt in a bloody mess on the floor, and offers us the chance to join him in a plot to bring down the Rust King's empire of dirt. Choosing to do so sets us on a task to seek out several promising potential recruits and attempt to bring them into the fold. But rather than digging into this story too much further, because it seems like the main narrative thread of Burning Springs, let's talk about some of the other aspects at play.

Head to the Last Resort bar in Highway Town, and you'll spot a familiar face in the wings - The Ghoul, the Prime show's most beloved character, is here in full form, complete with original voicelines from Walton Goggins himself. He's running a bounty business, and is eager to hand off those that aren't really worth his time to any eager takers. These low-tier 'Grunt Hunts' can be snagged whenever you want, and there are 20 locations across the Ohio region where your targets can show up. From what I saw, they're pretty straightforward 'find and eliminate' affairs that pay out a decent reward.

If you're feeling bolder, however, there's the option to buy out a tougher contract called a Head Hunt. These are vastly more dangerous, but you won't have to tackle them alone. Taking one starts a public event on the map that everyone in your server can join, and you'll need all the help you can get. Only one Head Hunt can be active at a time in the region, but with unique rewards, caps, and experience up for grabs, Rush and LaCoste are confident that you'll see a pretty steady rotation of them appearing.

The bounties keep coming, so you can take on as many as you like, and the pair say that there's a chance the system might expand across the rest of the map in the future if it proves popular. Rush turns and asks, "Bill, if The Ghoul put out a bounty on me, would you take it?" Without pausing, LaCoste nods. "Yeah. You'd respawn." Rush looks a little dejected. "You didn't even hesitate."

LaCoste notes that, because there are only a small handful of references to Ohio in Fallout lore to date, the region has been somewhat of a "blank slate" for them to play with. You can build camps there, of course, and there will be new fish and local legends to catch. Rush even teases that there's unique stuff to discover if you nuke the region, although notes that this can't be done to Highway Town. There will also be some specific features for players who have converted into ghouls. "If we were ever to make a 'raid two,'" Rush hints with a very cheeky wink, "we would definitely consider ghouls."

Rounding out our preview are two new public events. The first, Sinkhole Solutions, is a simple manner of destroying nests, fighting Radscorpions, and battling a Legendary Burning Ogua. What intrigued me more is a trip to the Jackson Junkyard, where we meet the Beastmaster. She's in charge of armoring up the Rust King's indentured Deathclaws, which seem to behave subserviently once clad in metal bindings, although she doesn't really seem too enamored with the procedure.

Here, our task is to gather scrap metal and bring it to a forge machine, where a fresh Deathclaw is armored up. It must then be escorted to its destination, but you'll have to fend off everything from bandits to Snallygaster hordes as you progress. This culminates in a showdown against a giant Legendary Deathclaw Matriarch, and she promises to put your whole group through their paces.

The Fallout 76 Burning Springs update comes to the PTS on Thursday October 2, and will include the ability to meet with The Ghoul, voiced by Walton Goggins. The full release, which features Season 23, 'Blood and Rust,' is currently planned for December.

There's still no word on the Fallout 5 release date, but at this point I honestly believe Fallout 76 has grown into an easy recommendation for fans of the series, especially if you're graduating to your first game of the bunch after watching the show. If you've already played them all, we've rounded up more of the best games like Fallout for you to try.

Will you be joining the fight in Burning Shores? Come by the PCGamesN community Discord server and let us know what you think of the update. Be sure to show me your best Camp builds while you're there, too.